Baltika 6 & 7

Going a little Russian this week on the blog. My mom bought me a four pack last week, which included a spiffy glass for 8 dollars and something cents at Sunland produce (best place to buy food, seriously). I didn't realize it at the time but on the side of the #7 bottle there was a little date saying, "born" and "good until". Apparently the Baltika was close to it's "death", which is probably why this review is a little biased.

Baltika no 6 is a stout and when it's cold, it's a nice deep brown that's nearly black, with a mild scent of coffee and chocolate. Now, me being absent minded had left it sitting around and although warm beer is good sometimes...warm Baltika is disgusting. Cold, the beer has a tinge of coffee flavor and goes down fairly easy, although it had a salty taste too. The warmer it becomes, the more salty it becomes. By the time I went back to my glass (about an hour later), the carbonation was gone and it went from tasting pretty good to tasting like I was drinking soy sauce. So, if your going to by the 6, which you can at either Sunland Produce or Bevmo for under 3 bucks--make sure you keep it super cold. Otherwise, you'll end up with black sea water instead.

Up above is the no. 7 which is called a "export special", but it's a lager and it's really not that special. It's got a girly pop top like you'd find on cheap Italian food in a can. Beer needs an actual top, not a little sticky ridiculous excuse for a top. It pours nice in it's glass but look at the head on that thing. Even after it was supposed to go down and melt into the beer, the head lingered, and didn't help Baltika's case. Yeah it's a nice little beer, I'll give it that, if I wanted to drink something a little more flavorful than Coors. I don't know why they'd export this because it's nothing worth writing home about. Of the Russian beers I have had, Zhiguliovskoye (sometimes it's spelled "Zhiguleovskoye" and no, I have no idea on how to pronounce it, I just call it "Zzzzblahowhateverbeer") is way better than Baltika. The 7 tastes like a watered down version of the 9 (the nine being the "extra lager").

Now I've gotten a book and I've been given more beer lately than I can possibly drink by myself, let alone take serious notes on. Oddly in the book one of the top 10 beers in the world is a brew made by Sam Adams (which I agree because of all the major breweries in the US, Sam Adams actually has standards). So if there's something you want a review on or you think I'll enjoy it, feel free to mention it.

And on that note, it's onto next weeks awesomeness...which includes one of my favorites as well as something--completely different. And they're super cheap at Bevmo right now (hint hint).

Saison is my favorite style, which is basically Belgian "Farmhouse style" ale. It's a little sweeter than most, but it's more like a champagne than an ale. Either way it's delicious and I urge you to try a Saison once. Le Merle (North Coast Brewery) is a really good one too.

But you've got, Saison Dupont (which on Beeradvocate is rated an A-) and a collaboration between Stone brewing (those of you who are unfamiliar, Stone makes Arrogant Bastard, it's got a gargoyle devil thing on it), Green Flash, and Port Brewing. And it's a Scotch Ale, which means it's going to be dark and thick and awesome.

See ya all next week.